In this study,the genetic diversity and population structure of 90 Ferula assa foetida L. genotypes were evaluated using 13 ISSR primers. The results indicated that ISSR primers reproduced a total of 186 polymorphic bands with an average of 14.38 bands per primer. The mean values of marker index (MI) and  the polymorphic information content (PIC) for ISSR primers were 4.98  and 0.37, respectively, and showed that ISSR primers were highly efficient in ­the identification of genetic diversity in Ferula populations. In comparison between the studied populations, the population of Kerman includes 33 genotypes based on the values of the number of effective alleles (Ne), heterozygous values (H), Shannon index (I), and the total number of alleles (Na) observed was more diverse. The­ ­analysis of molecular variance  (AMOVA) results showed that 8% of the total changes are related to  between population diversity, while 92% of the changes are justified by within population diversity. In other words, ISSR primers showed significant genetic diversity between and within wild relatives. Cluster analysis and population structure divided all evaluated genotypes into 5 main categories, respectively. According to the results obtained from this analysis, the value of K=5 was in the optimal range. These results illustrate that there is a relatively high genetic diversity in the Ferulas  population  and ISSR markers are beneficial tools for studying genetic diversity in this germplasm.
 
 

Keywords: Molecular diversity, Medicinal Plants, Genetic diversity parameters, Molecular marker

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